The present invention relates to portable devices mountable in an interior automotive compartment for holding beverage containers.
Those who commute by automobile often prefer the benefit of carrying a beverage, such as hot coffee, a soda or lemonade, with them during their travels to both maintain their hydration and interrupt the monotony of travel. In recognition of this desire, many efforts have been made throughout the years to provide a satisfactory beverage container for use by the commuter. Examples include trays to straddle the center console of an automobile and configured with upwardly opening openings for receipt of a cup, glass or bottle. Other efforts have led to the provision of covered cups or containers configured with openable discharge ports through which the hydrating liquid can be drawn. Many commuters, however, prefer a holder which will conveniently receive a cup or bottle into which the liquid is originally dispensed or stored. Some holders have been proposed which are in the form of a thermally insulative holder which telescopes over the exterior of a cup or bottle to be grasped by the user and to insulate the beverage so as to maintain its temperature. These devices, however, are not typically stable for holding the beverage in a stable position. Thus the driver or passenger is forced to incur the risk of securing the holder in his or her lap. Such a risk can pose great danger to the driver, particularly when hot liquids are contained in the beverage container. This risk is acute when a standard shift automobile is being driven, requiring repeated manipulation of the foot and knees of the operator. In recognition of these shortcomings, holders have been proposed configured with a particular wedge shape so as to be complementally received between the legs of a driver and configured on its bottom with an upwardly and forwardly sloping surface to complement the typical upward and forward slope of an automotive seat. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,216 to Kinder. Such devices, while providing some stability for the holder, are not totally satisfactory since the driver must concentrate on holder his or her legs still and in a particular position to safely hold a cup against tilting which may cause spillage of the contained hot coffee or the like.
Other drink container holders have been proposed which includes a ring suspended from a pliable hanger which may be bent to different positions for hanging over differently shaped objects, such as the side window glass of an automobile. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,400 to Jasmagy, Jr. These devices have not enjoyed particular commercial success since their successful use is dependent on locating an object in an automobile which is properly shaped for receipt of the hanger and which is located for convenient access of the beverage by the driver or passenger.
Other efforts to provide a stabilized beverage container holder have led to the proposal of a cylindrical tube configured with a tongue projecting laterally from its bottom wall to be releasably received in the crack formed between the bottom and back of an automobile seat. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,598 to Greene. Such devices, while providing some stability, suffer the shortcoming that they are of limited utility at different locations in the passenger cabin and are not practical for use in the front seat when both the driver and passenger seats are occupied.
These needs have been recognized by automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Many OEMs have manufactured automobile with center consoles or door ledges configured with upwardly opening recesses for complemental receipt of a beverage container, such as a cup. There remains, however, a need for portable holders for automobiles which do not incorporate OEM holders or which do not have them in the location preferred by the automobile owner.
Thus, there exists a need for a portable beverage container which may be securely mounted within the interior of the automobile for positively holder a beverage container in an upright position for easy access by the driver or passenger.
The present invention is characterized by a beverage container holder having an upright block or body formed with an upwardly opening container-receiving bore and formed with a downwardly projecting stem having a lateral cross-section of a dimension to substantially fill a corresponding dimension in a cavity in the interior of the car, such as an ashtray receiving cavity or side door pocket.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable beverage container holder embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view, in reduced scale, taken along the lines 2xe2x80x942 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, perpendicular to that of FIG. 2, and showing the holder mounted in the side pocket of an automobile;
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment of the portable beverage container holder of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view, in enlarged scale, similar to FIG. 4.